The present invention relates to a separator or cage for ball bearings, and including pockets that receive the bearing balls. The separator is preferably comprised of sheet metal. The invention particularly concerns the shaping of the separator so as to reduce friction between the bearing balls and the separator and to improve the development of a lubricant film between the balls and the separator.
A separator of this type is known, for instance, from Federal Republic cf Germany Patent No. 925,203. That separator is comprised of profiled sheet metal rings which are connected to each other. The connection is effected after the introduction of the balls. It is possible to produce pocket surfaces which surround the balls to a large extent and thus guide the balls and prevent them from falling out of the separator. One essential disadvantage of such separators, however, is that the friction is very variable, depending upon the application of the balls against given pocket surfaces. In this connection, the friction may also be very high. Furthermore, due to the absence of wedge-shaped entry surfaces for the lubricant between the balls and the pocket surfaces, no separating lubricating film can build up. These properties are unfavorable for certain uses, for instance for the mounting of phonograph spindles, since these properties can have a substantially negative effect on the absolutely necessary uniform rotation of the spindles.